Hello All,

I?m trying to make a decision on these two programmes; but need your guidance.

I live and work in London and I?ve a very strong Finance background. Amongst other considerations, I require strong alumni network in Africa.

I've narrowed my choice down to this two. So, please which of these schools would you choose?

Warwick:
++++ Better ranked (FT - 2nd in the UK), Russell group, Offered part scholarship
---- Not in London, 3 year programme, requires 5-working-days a month for lectures

Cass:
++++ London based, Requires only 2-working-days a month for lectures (Lectures run Friday through Monday), 2 year programme
----Not well ranked (FT -5th in the UK), Not Russell group, No part scholarship

Although, given the above pluses and minuses; I think Warwick is better; however, there is less appetite from my employer to sign up to a 5-working-days-off-a-month programme.

So, my questions are: Is Warwick programme that far better than Cass that perhaps I should consider resigning from my current employer to go on the programme with the view to getting a new job during the programme? Or the 3 (2 vs 5) FT ranking gap does not matter that much? Can any Alumni of either programme please provide me with insights into the programmes? What's been the ROI of the two programmes? How are both programmes perceived by employers post graduation?

Thanking you in anticipation of your guidance.

Regards

Duncan or anyone else?your thoughts??

If your primary goal is to find a school with a strong alumni network in Africa, why have you narrowed your choices to these two?

Isn't the Warwick MBA in total 13 modules over the entire programme? Five days a months for three years cannot be the requirement.

Other things being equal, Warwick is better (other than for finance). City's pedagogy is better, in my opinion, and the cohort is more senior.

Thanks, Duncan.

I've narrowed it to those two based on budget. LBS is just out of reach based on budget.

Yes, 5 days a month lecture is the requirement for Warwick.

In your opinion, do you think it's worth resigning from my job to take up the Warwick programme or it won't make much difference if I settle for Cass.

Thank you.

You are mistaken. There are 13 five-day modules across three years, with six in the first year: http://www.wbs.ac.uk/wbs2012/assets/PDF/downloads/mba/executive-mba-2014-schedule.pdf

I think the OP should first select a mode of study, then consider a short list of schools offering that type of program. From his/her original post I assume this is to be a non full-time course, ie one compatible with continuing to work, but that, for networking reasons, a distance-learning course is not of interest.

If so, the choice is between part-time (typically Friday and Saturday of alternate weeks, with a gap during the summer and over Christmas, often with a couple of intensive week-long sessions per year in addition) and modular (the program is delivered in one-week bursts, perhaps 6-8 weeks apart). In both cases, the course will typically last two years. I suspect he/she is comparing a modular program at Warwick with a part-time one at Cass, and perhaps also underestimating how many weekends will be required at the latter.

If the OP wants a network in Africa, it would be very much better to choose a modular program because there's a good chance that some of the cohort will be Africans flying in for each session; for obvious reasons, this is less likely to be the case with a part-time course. Also desirable would be a school that has a sizeable full-time cohort that includes some students from Africa.

Thanks, Duncan.

I've narrowed it to those two based on budget. LBS is just out of reach based on budget.

Yes, 5 days a month lecture is the requirement for Warwick.

In your opinion, do you think it's worth resigning from my job to take up the Warwick programme or it won't make much difference if I settle for Cass.

Thank you.

With strong background in finance not sure why you need these part-time MBA in the first place. If you need an MBA and your priority is school fees choose the cheaper. If it is about timing choose the one with less tests and more hours with faculty

They are equally good in your case. No i did not graduate from either but i know a few who went to these schools MBA and MSc and cant see the bid difference among them

Both schools have a lot of international students many chinese and indians or from that region some african students as well cant say the exact number but the school will help you

I was looking at the MBA programs at these schools, but something occurs to me about the EMBA rankings: do you think that Cass' UAE branch (and the potentially lower post-EMBA salaries attached) drag down Cass' FT EMBA ranking? Maybe the London cohort has similar salary statistics as Warwick's. Just a thought.

Quite the opposite: the PPP calculations probably push those programmes up in the rankings.